Wildflower Walks & Roads of the Sierra Gold Countr
I'm a wildflower enthusiast who arrived in the Sacramento area about six years ago, and I use this book almost every weekend during the wildflower season in the spring. Its great value is a series of descriptions of places and roads with good wildflowers. These descriptions are organized around the major towns along the Gold Country, from Oroville in the north to Mariposa in the south. The description of each location gives decent directions (I have had to hunt sometimes but I've never failed to locate a destination yet), some local history or color, and an overview of the species that might be there. At the beginning of each town section, Fuaver provides lists that identify the locations that are especially good for kids, for hiking, for the serious botantist, or because of their good flower displays. The place descriptions make up perhaps the first 40% of the book. The rest of the book provides descriptions and drawings of the various flower species you might see. I use a variety of other books for flower identification so this particular section isn't of much use to me, but it would probably help someone just getting started.